FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Philippe Durand]

Hello,
What about my collection:

In the catalog are 182 minerals, all are on display in one cabinet, but there are 20 that I had as a child, and not worth showing here.
All but one, were bought (the many that I have collected myself were discarded a long time ago).

69 mineral species.

Main focus: fluorite, quartz, zeolites, pyrite, hematite, sulfides
I buy at 3 to 4 shows each year and on the internet.
I have collected since 1974.

[Tobi]

[James Catmur]

I have 991 specimens in my catalog but some are yet to be added and some are 'For Sale' so say a round 1000
About 95 are on display (I have not counted them)
3 countries account for 95% of the collection (another 25 countries have one or two specimens)
112 species

259 Fluorite specimens, as they are a bit of a focus
Never done a show (except to sell)
Almost everything is in cases or draws
Some self collected, but not many of the ones on display were

[Carles Millan]

Sorry for the delay. I don't know what I was thinking about.

- 389 specimens cataloged in my collection right now
- 117 species

- 242 on display
- 61 in drawers
(about 76 of them, either on display or in drawers, are marked to trade or sell when I find a chance)
- 86 in my subcollection of Catalonia (rather low quality, but interesting for local collectors)

- Out of collection there are over 50 additional pieces to give away to children or some people who visit me. Not world class specimens!

[Carles Millan]

[Michael Shaw]

Answers to Bob Harman's questions.

1. Field collect vs. buy or both? As a young collector starting out in the early 1960s, nearly everything in my collection was field collected. Currently, opportunities to field collect are very limited due to where we live. My collection contains 77 specimens that I personally collected, 181 that were acquired through trades, 26 gifts, and the remainder purchased.
2. How many focus their collection ? I have focused on several sub-collections over the years. The Southern Illinois Fluorspar District, Romania, and Dal'negorsk continue to be major areas of focus. I also have sub-collections of pseudomorphs and gypsum.
3. How many collectors actually know something about where their specimens come from or have been to these sites? I love to visit (and photograph when possible) any mineral localities, and have been to many of the localities represented in my collection.
4. How many have display cases or shelves in their home vs putting the specimens in boxes? Part of my collection is displayed in a lighted cabinet. The remainder is in drawers and labeled flats.
5. How many display their examples at shows, museums or other venues where the public might view them? I have entered both competitive and non-competitive exhibits at local and regional shows. Also, minerals from my collection are displayed in an exhibit at our public library. I change the exhibit 4-5 times each year.

[James Catmur]

Some more statistics on my collection:
- Collected - 17%
- Swapped - 2%
- Gifts - 14%
- Bought - 67%

I have visited many of the localities, and in fact tend to collect from localities I know. 67% of the collection is from Spain and I have visited 90% of the localities in Spain.

[Tobi]

[Tobi]

Some additional statistics, just for fun. My display collection consists of (counting the main species on each specimen):

22 % fluorite
17 % quartz
13 % galena
7 % calcite
5 % tourmaline
5 % pyromorphite
4 % garnet
4 % sphalerite
4 % fluorapatite
3 % beryl
16 % other minerals (less than 3 % from each species)

Interesting for me to observe: Some years ago wulfenite would have been in the list (but I discarded some minor specimens and kept only three really good ones), but sphalerite would not have appeared (a fellow collector started my interest in that sulfide mineral just one year ago).

The countries of origin are:

28 % Germany
10 % USA
8 % China
5 % Pakistan
5 % Brazil
4 % Kazakhstan
4 % England
4 % Mexico
3 % Namibia
3 % Russia
3 % Peru
3 % Switzerland
20 % other countries (less than 3% from each one)

Also an interesting observation: Some years ago there was much more stuff from Namibia in my collection, it would have ranked somewhere between Germany and China, but I discarded many minor specimens and just kept a few good ones. The same with Morocco which does not appear at all in the list, but some years ago it would have been as important as Pakistan or Brazil in my collection (1 out of 20 specimens from the country).

Someone else who has such nerdy facts to present? ;-)

[texasdigger]

[Carles Millan]

[TripleRoyale]

[Carles Millan]

To install it on your Mac or Linux based machine please read Q&A #2 at https://carlesmillan.cat/min/faqs.php

[clarkymk]

[Carles Millan]